Commissioners Balk At Footing Bill For Shelter For Runaways

KISSIMMEE — The dilapidated house on Neptune Road - called a public nuisance by an engineer last year - is filled with plaster dust these days.

If Sharon Sikorski has her way, it will soon become Osceola County's first shelter for runaways.

Volunteers including Sikorski, chairwoman of the Osceola Child Abuse Task Force, have spent the past few days tearing down the walls with hammers in preparation for building a four-bed shelter next to the Osceola Children's Home.

Now they want the county to operate it as an extension of the home, a temporary residence for abused and neglected youths.

''We need to get the services here instead of relying on Orlando,'' Sikorski said. Osceola children now are sent to an Orange County shelter.

Affiliating the new shelter with the Children's Home would give it credibility and save money, allowing it to open as early as the middle of this year, Sikorski said.

But several county commissioners said this era of tight government finances is a bad time to ask for money for new projects. Commission Chairman John Pate was the most vehement. He said he does not support a county-run shelter.

''In fact, I'd like to look at the (social) services we have now to see if we can make some cuts,'' Pate said.

Sikorski, in a report to be presented to commissioners Monday at 9:30 a.m., said it would cost $276,000 the first year to run a privately owned shelter. If the county runs it, the cost would be $24,000 because the two programs could share staff, a dining room and other costs.

County Commissioner Larry Whaley said he would want to check those numbers before the county got involved. He also would want a study of the need for a shelter.

''It is a very big disparity,'' Whaley said of the numbers.

Commissioner Reidy Williams agreed studies are needed. He said he supports a shelter, but he doesn't know where the money would come from.

''We've got to set priorities,'' Williams said. ''We've spread the money out as far as we can.''

Mike Robinson, program director for Orange County's shelter for runaways, said there is a need for family counseling and other services for runaways in Osceola County. But he said he is not convinced a shelter is necessary.

''I think it will be hard to justify the expense of hiring and staffing an additional program,'' Robinson said. ''In the scheme of things, it doesn't seem to be a high priority.''

Undaunted, Sikorski said she plans to begin renovating the house this month. A building permit could be issued as early as next week, said Gene Innocenti, county director of building and zoning.

A local contractor donated his services and an architectural firm offered reduced fees, Sikorski said. She also plans to apply for private grants.

The task force - a group of residents, business people and child advocates - has $15,000 in the bank, Sikorski said.

If the shelter were privately owned, it would need at least six months' operating money, about $138,000, to receive a state license, said Katherine Deans, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services.

However, if the county ran the shelter, financial solvency would not be a stumbling block, although strict state licensing procedures still would apply, Deans said.

In 1990, the task force spent $8,000 to move the house - which was donated by SunBank - from Main Street to Neptune Road.

Engineering consultant George Knudsen in May 1991 told the county the house shouldn't be on county property because it was dangerous. County officials said Knudsen's recommendations were meant to aid the task force and were not binding.

The County Commission agreed in June 1990 to let the house be moved to county land. Whaley said when he approved that move, he believed the task force would be financially responsible for running the shelter.

''If they feel it's worth putting the bucks into it, it's up to them,'' he said at the time of the engineer's report. ''If it were us putting our money into it, it might be a different situation.''

The statistics may be one gauge of the project's worth. In 1991, 686 Osceola children were reported missing to the Osceola County Sheriff's Office, spokesman Sgt. Max Raterman said. About 10 percent turned out not to be runaways, he said.

Seventy-eight Osceola children found their way to one of the 23 shelters in Florida during the year ending June 30, 1991 - although not all of those stayed long enough to spend the night, said Chris Card, executive director of the Florida Network of Youth and Family Services, an umbrella organization.

Last year, 23 Osceola youths stayed at Family Services Project, the Orange County shelter, Robinson said.